Several patents have been published concerning the production of candies, chewing gums and chocolates in which an inert gas is introduced during their liquid or paste-like state in order to either achieve products with a lower density and, therefore, lower cost in relation to volume, or to achieve different sensations. However in none of these cases the gas is retained within the mass in such a way that poppings are produced when the hollows created by the gas are broken.
The first patent which describes the introduction of a gas into a mass formed by a mixture of molten sugars which, on cooling, retains the occluded gas which gives off a crackling sound on being released was U.S. Pat. No. 3,012,893 presented on the Jan. 6th, 1959. In 1979 the same inventors of the present patent application cited for the first time the importance of the diameter of the bubbles of occluded gas in Spanish Patent No. 480,775 and in English Patent No. 2,048,643.
Since 1979 we have been investigating the mechanism for gasifying the candy in order to improve the quantity and intensity of poppings produced and in order to reduce the amount of candy wasted as a result of having a small quantity and low intensity of poppings.
We have also developed an objective system of control over the poppings, independent of differences in personal taste.
To improve the understanding of the different aspects of the present and previous patents which refer to gasified candies emitting poppings, the popping mechanism is outlined below, its control system being that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,039.